Brazil’s prez scores court win in impeachment case

Brasilia: Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that Congress must restart impeachment proceedings against Dilma Rousseff from scratch and overhauled the procedure, in a badly needed win for the embattled president.

In an 8-3 decision, the judges annulled an opposition-dominated impeachment commission established by secret ballot in the lower house last week and ordered the procedure be restarted in an open vote.

It also gave the final word on whether to open an impeachment trial to the Senate, where Rousseff has greater support. Rousseff is accused of fudging the government’s accounts during her re-election campaign.

The 68-year-old leftist maintains the budgeting maneuvers were accepted practice. Under the court’s ruling, a new commission to decide whether or not to impeach her must now be created in an open vote by the lower house. If the commission recommends impeachment, the decision will then pass to the full lower house — and then, the judges ruled, to the Senate.